Grain car door



Sept. 4, 1951 H. A. COULTER GRAIN CAR DOOR 3 Shee'cs--SheeiI 1 Filed Nov. 29, 1945 Sept. 4, 1951 H. A. COULTER GRAIN CAR DOOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 29, 1945 H. A. COULTER Sqn. 4, 1951 GRAIN CAR DOOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed NOV. 29, 1945 2,31 of ze Patented Slept. 4, 1951 GRAIN CAR DOOR Hugh A. Coulter, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada,

assigner to Harold St. Clair Scarth and Williain Hamilton McKinnon, jointly, both of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Application November 29, 1945, Serial No. 631,620

2 Claims.

The invention relates to grain car doors and an object of the invention is to provide an all metal sectional 4door which can be readily opened and stored within the car and which is provided with a low set gate permitting of the initial re lease of grain, prior to the opening of the door.

A further object of the invention is to provide a door embodying similar door sections, and wherein the sections cannot be removed from the car when they are in operating, stored or in passage from operating to stored position.

A further object is to construct each section from sheet metal, amply reinforced and to provide the ends of each section with vertical, inturned flanges adapted to slidably enter guides secured to the door posts of the car and to supply the lower section with grain outlets and a sliding gate normally closing the outlets, and permitting when shifted of an initial discharge of grain through said outlets.

A further object is to provide a sectional metallic doorwhich can be installed in existing cars without requiring any alteration of the car structure and which requires of the introduction of but few parts to complete the installation and which as a whole can be made at comparatively low cost and will have long life.

With the above more important objects in View the invention consists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. lis an exterior view of a portion of a grain car equipped with my invention.

' Fig. 2 is an interior view of the door installed in the car.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view at 3\--3 Fig. 2 and looking to the right.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional View at 4--4 Fig. 2 and looking to the right.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the hang ers and associated angle irons.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view at 6-6 Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of part of the lower section of the door.

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view through the lower section of the door, and cutting through the openings therein.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

I might initially explain that While I have shown structural details of a particular type of par, I definitely wish it to be understood that my door can be used on any type of grain car, as

they all have embodied in their structure equivalents of the maj or car parts with which my invention is associated.

Referring noW to the drawings the car presents the side walls I, floor 2, roof 3, roof rafters 4, door posts 5 and 6, sill 1 and doorway opening 8, all of which parts are common to grain cars.

My grain door, indicated generally by the reference numeral 9, is of such width that it will span the doorway opening with its ends engaging the inner faces of the posts. The height of the door is variable, depending on requirements.

The door is formed from a number of similar metallic door sections I0, made from sheet metal and fabricated to supply structural features peculiar to my door. I have herein shown seven sections and might here explain that the lower section has slight structural variations from the other identical sections thereabove, and I will now describe the common structural features of all sections.

Each section is rectangular in form and is fabricated to provide top and bottom marginal lengthwise extending reinforcing double ply flanges II and I2, a central lengthwise extending reinforcing rib I3 and end anges I4, the flanges and rib all facing inwardly and being at right angles to the door section body.

The edge flanges II and I2 of the lower door section vary in detail from the corresponding flanges of the other sections in that they are hooked (see Figs. 'l and 8) to provide guides to receive the flanged edges of a shiftable gate later described. The flanges II and I2 of the other or upper sections are pressed flat.

As before intimated the ends of the door sections all bear against the inner faces of the posts 5 and 6 with the flanges and ribs facing inwardly. The door sections so positioned are all vertically slidable, as their end flanges I4 are slidably received in vertical U-shaped channels I5 formed as part of vertical guide bars I5 permanently fastened to the inner faces of the posts. It will be observed that the said door sections cannot be removed without sliding them out of the upper ends of the channels and here I might mention that provision, later described, is made, so that when free of the channels. said sections cannot be removed from the car.

The lower section of the door is provided with a number of outlet openings I6 normally closed by an interior gate Il which has its upper and lower edges flanged at I'I and IIx and the flanges slidably received in the hooked anges or guides descanse I I and I2 of such section. The gate is supplied with openings I8 adapted, in the shifting of the gate, to register with those I6 and handles I9 are provided for shifting purposes.

It is desirable that the sections be stored within the car, and thatprovision be made such that when beingpassed to stored position or in stored position, they cannot be stolen or taken from the car, and the above is accomplished in the following manner:

A number of similar hangers 20 are supplied these being placed a selected distance apart throughout the length of thel car and to the sides of the door way opening and being fastened to the side wall of the car and to the roof rafters. Those hangers immediately adjacent the door opening are placed a distance apart, such that suiiicient clearance is given to pass a door section therebetween when the same is raised clear of the guide bars I5. This permits the section to be passed to the left or right as desired into stored position supported by the hangers. The hangers are constructed in detail as best shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the end Abeing fastened to the car wall, adjacent the roof and the end B being secured by a strap 2l, by clipping to or bolting to the rafters. The arm 20 of the hanger is horizontal and all hanger arms are in the same horizontal plane, and the hangerrarms have a length slightly greater than the Ywidth of a door section and they carryopposing angle irons 22 and 22 forming tracks o n which the door section about tc bestored slides. e The positioning and dimensioning of the hangers and angle irons in relation to thel door section length and width is such that once a door section has been entered it cannot be removed, v Y

In order to prevent possible removal of a door section, subsequent to its escape from the guide bars I5 and prior to its entrance into stored pol sition, I have provided a single hanger 23 located centrally above the door way opening and supported by the side wall and a roof rafter and presenting a horizontal arm 23', a vertical arm 23X and a iinger 232, the iingerbeing in the horizontal plane containing the arms 20'. The angle irons 22 and 2 cross this lattervhanger, in the locations best shown in Fig. 4. Y

This central hanger is so dimensioned and so co-related with the top ends ofY the guide bars I5 that when a door section has been raised with its lower edge just clear of the upper ends of the bars I5, the upper edge thereof is just clear of or is striking the arm 23 and that when its upper edge is swung inwardly and downwardly the latter edge will engage thernger 232. When it has so engaged the finger, the lower edge is raised to bring the section to horizontal position where passed to stored position.

4 it can be slid along on the tracks to stored posi-f tion adjacent the roof and side wall of the car.

When the door is closed itwill retain grain within the car. If the car is to be unloaded the workman shifts the gate to open position which brings the openings I6 and I8 into registration, the gate movement being facilitated by the handles I9 secured thereto and protruding through the openings I6. Once the initial grain pressure has been released, the upper door section and the following sections can be slid upwardly and Obviously the work of replacing the door sections in their original position is the converse of that already described.

While I have given a detailed description of the various parts of my invention, it will be readily understood that these can be materially modified without departing from the spirit o the invention as deiined in the accompanying claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. The combination with the door postsof a grain car, of similar verticalguide bars secured to the inner faces of the posts adjacent the remote corners thereof, each guide bar presenting an out turned flange secured to the post and an inturned flange formed to provide a vertical guide channeh and a grain door formed from Y'a plurality-of similar, metallic door sections having their ends; bearing against the posts and provided with inturned end anges slidably received within the guide channels and each of saidsections Ybeing provided with double ply top and bottom marginal flanges and a central rib, the ends of the latterv flanges and rib stopping short of the end anges to clear the guide bars.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the lower door section is providedbetween the double ply flangesand the rib with outlet openings, the flanges are hooked to provide guideways and the openings are normally closed by adoor spanning the rib and having its upper and lower edges provided with inturned anges slidably received within the guideways. g

HUGH A. COULTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of thisrpatent: z

UNITED STATES PATENTS storm Aug. 25., 1 931 

